The session addressed planned treatments in the area
By Mary Alice Murphy
The purpose of the meeting was for the agency representatives of the Bureau of Land Management, the Forest Service, State Forestry and Soil and Water Conservations Districts to point out how they collaborate on prescribed burns, use of herbicides for thinning and the reseeding of fire areas.
Available were maps of planned prescribed burns in the Pinos Altos area, specifically in the Cross Mountain area, which might take place in October. Another map showed the Rico Fire area and grass seeding target areas to rehabilitate the area.
A comprehensive handout laid out the type of herbicide that would be used in some areas for thinning and its hazards and safety precautions. Another section of the handout talks about fire fighting measures, as well as accidental release measures, handling and storage of the liquid pesticide, personal protection and exposure controls, as well as the physical and chemical properties of the product, its stability and reliability, toxicological information, ecological information, disposal considerations, transport information and environmental information.
Jon Selby out of the Las Cruces Bureau of Land Management office agreed that the herbicide was a hot topic. "We've been using this product for more than 20 years. After a tree is cut, within 30 minutes, we spray the liquid directly on the stump, and not anywhere else. It's fairly harmless. We can treat with fire, but the herbicide is more targeted."
He said the cut wood is either masticated or chipped.
An area resident asked why he sees blue on the stumps that have been treated.
Doug Boykin of New Mexico State Forestry, said the blue is a dye so "we know what has been sprayed. It usually washes away in the first rain. What we're trying to do is starve the root ball. Fire takes away the effects of the chemical. The chemical will not kill it all. What we're trying to do is reintroduce grass into the areas."
A Forest Service representative noted that fire is beneficial for ponderosa pines. "Every three-to-five years we rotate with State Forestry and the Soil and Water Conservation Districts to do the treatments."
"With the burns we are working together to protect the Pinos Altos and Signal Peak areas," he said. "We want to pull off a spring burn. We still have to figure out the containment lines, which we will implement in October. We are looking at roads as protective sections. We won't touch everything on the hills. We are looking southwest of Pines Altos so it will break up continuity of any fires that occur."
Boykin said they have already started a fuel break on the southwest side.
A resident noted that the Rico Fire left a lot of biomass.
Selby said that was why they were looking to introduce fire to remove the biomass. "We will issue fuel wood permits in the Pinos Altos areas to harvest the downed trees. Once we develop the permit process, we will put it online and tell everyone where to get the permits."
Another resident noted that it had been a "heavy lift to get permits."
Some of the targeted areas are on Forest Service land and some on BLM land.
Boykin noted there are lots of pots of money to facilitate the treatments, with funding coming from the state, Forest Service and BLM.
A woman noted there is a lot of dead wood in the area. Selby said that was why "we hope a lot of it will get captured in the fuel permits." He noted that standing dead wood would also be eligible for the fuel permits.
Boykin cautioned: "That's for BLM land. If it's private land, it's between you and the landowner. The fuel permits for BLM land will be similar to the process that the Forest Service uses."
Selby said as they get closer to the dates for the treatment or prescribed burns, the agencies will be transparent on the dates they expect them to occur.
Boykin noted that in some areas canopy of taller trees needs to be broken up, and it is necessary to let sawmill operators know where they can log.
Selby said the introduction of fire into the landscape creates resilience.
